Having dismantled and fettled with my english axle to the point of putting it back togther, I noticed a spiral grove in both halfshafts where the oil seal sits.

Having thourly mixed the halfshafts up I don't know which halfshaft came from which side of the axle (if they where correct in the first place).

Should the groves be turning so that some oil is sent to the bearings, or vice versa?

Oh dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know which way the seals go unfortunately, but I do know that if you put the shafts the wrong way round, they have a tendency to snap on the first hard standing start!!!!! (they get twisted up slightly in the escort, and if you then "untwist" them they tend to break)

Thats kinda why i'm hoping the spiral on the half shaft will help. The spiral is not exactly the same on each halfshaft, so they are either both halfshafts push a small quantity of oil out or in.

My suspicion is that they allow a small amout of oil oit to help subricate the beraings. Then again

The spiral always pumps oil back towards the diff away from the bearing BUT These not fitted to any English axle I have ever seen, any MK1 or Mk2 Escort axles I have worked had sealed bearings retained plain shrunk on retaining collars.

Very few axles on any car manufactured after about 1965 had seperate bearings and seals, the Marina being one exception.

The bearings are sealed. but theres also an O ring in the axle housing.

The groves on the half shafts are not the same, the other one looks more like a scratch (but looks far to neat/straight) and is at a different angle.
Rescued attachment DSCF0018 small.JPG

The arrowed part is the retainer ring and scratch or groove on that has no function.

I was a bit confused by the question myself, but I see now! It is the same axle that I have dealt with a lot, was worried that there was some other seal arrangement that I didn't know about!

Halfshafts should always be marked left and right before removal.

Not that much help now unfortunately, but plus point is that when they do snap, english halfshafts don't usually seem to do too much damage to the axle/diff.

This's got me a bit worried about my Sierra ones now- did I keep them the right way round!

The most confusing bit is my lack of pratical understand when it comes to axles. The result is a daft qestion on my part.


The solution though I seem to have found. The is slightly more wear on one side of the splines. so that should be the side in contact with the diff in normal use, ie driving forward.

[Edited on 25/4/05 by clbarclay]